I too am lucky enough to have one paddling partner I can count on.  Me... for now.

There was an old man in his late 70's I met in the woods a couple falls ago.  With long wavy proud gray hair, that made his way through life as a jazz man, owned a bar in the tc area.  This lucky fellow had his daughter leading the trip, into her forties herself I'd guess.

They had a bear visit there camp the night before I met them.  Lots of folks would have been camping somewhere else after their evening.  For them it was just another experience.

Chemistry 101... with the woods.

k

This thread and the recent one on Survivorman made me think of my #1 rule for a serendipitous camping group....it goes so much smoother if everyone camps in the same manner.  Of course, that is unlikely, but some are willing to learn, and others are just plain stubborn.  There are lots of ways to do the same thing of course, but I find the easiest trips are with people who have the same camping habits and attitude toward the wilderness.  IC

Why would anyone want to go with someone who wasn't 100% bonafide?  I love to laugh, and there isn't anything funnier than watching someone do something stupid when they should: a) know better, and b) already been told not to do it that way.  You don't have to be a newbie to fall into the category of being the joke of the day.    Just wanting to save a little time or take that shortcut...didn't work out the way it was supposed to, did it?  Sometimes failure is the best teacher.  And if you can't laugh at your own mistakes, you didn't really learn your lesson.

I'll second THAT notion, Beavers!  Hooking up with QJ'ers in the Park for a few limited encounters have been some of my most rewarding investments of time & trust.

Jimbo   8)

I am also blessed with a dependable paddling partner, my husband.  Unfortunately for me, he has sleep apnea.  He sleeps at home with a breathing machine and it is a big help for him, as well as for me, to get a good night's sleep.

In a tent in the wilderness his snoring could keep the critters awake for miles around.  While it makes me a bit uncomfortable to use the ear plugs (I would never hear a marauding bear, and would probably miss the footsteps of the moose who comes to breakfast), it is necessary.  You can't paddle and portage with no sleep!

But I cannot imagine canoe tripping with anyone else!   

I'm lucky enough to have one tripping partner that I can always count on...my wife.  

My friends responses to a BW trip are, "You do what? You think that's a vacation?"  

I can get away from work a lot more than my wife so that leaves me traveling solo or tripping with other QJ'ers.

I'm glad I took the chance to rendevous with the other guys on the group solo in Sept.  I got the chance to meet some great guys and learn a lot.  I'm sure it will not be the last time we travel together and could just be an annual event.

It seems that all of the QJ rendezvous turned out well and had happy endings.  

So, I guess QJ chemistry is good.   


 

Trip number two into Quetico is the one I always think of when someone new wants to make a trip with me. 
Lets see trip number two was suppost to be of just me and my father inlaw.  He loved to camp and was very good at it.  Problem was he wanted to take his Brother Inlaw and his son.  Whom had never been on a Wilderness Trip but had been camping many times. 
We met several times in the 6 months or so of trip planning.  They seemed like good guys I couldn't find anything that threw up a red flag.  So I agreed. 
It was a simple trip up the Man chain looping out Agnes. 
We had 8 full days to do the trip and they understood the route and planned lakes to be on each day. 
Day one went without a conflict.
Day two however got very heated.
We were on our way to No Man when the Brother Inlaw said.  Why are we looping I want to just say here all week then paddle out.  I ask him why, and he said it was to much work and he was done as in not going any farther.  I told him that the loop had been planned and we had all agreed to do it.  Which after a vote he was the only one not wanting to move on.
I sugested we go ahead to Other Man for the night fish some and still try to work the loop in.  He threw his pack down in the middle of the portage said NO I'm not going any farther.  After trying several times (taking the nice guy route with him), I saw it was going no where.  So I looked him in the eye any very calmly said.  Look do you think you can find your way out of here?  He said no as I was the leader.
I said BINGO, and the leader is heading this way.  If your coming fine if your not then even better.
As for the snoreing, I still have this visual of this guy sleeping in a pup tent, feet out one end and head barely in the tent on the other, I'll add it had no floor. It wouldn't have matered if I had been on the other side of the lake I would have still heard him. 
Snoring partners are very simple to take care of, if you ever look in the back pouch of my first aide kit you'll find my handy dandy ear plugs.  Only ever used them one other time on a trip.  But each trip I take, I make sure I packed a new set.
I did finally agree to base camping on Other Man that trip.  But I took a full day heading somewhere each day offering to them,  a welcome go but explaining it would be a difficult day and if he chose to stay and fish my feelings wouldn't be hurt at all.  I also told him if we all day trip we take all the gear just in case we decide to camp on another lake..  I think he was afraid I'd keep him moving in the direction of the loop (likely so).
Pup Tents how fitting for him!  Lucky for me it didn't rain that trip, if it had, I would have had to kept the plugs in all day as well.
qp

When I used to plan group trips I learned early on I was not planning my trip, I was planning theirs. I soon learned to suggest routes based on the participants involved and find that still works pretty well.

Whenever new people were allowed to invite themselves, they were warned repeatedly about what awful miseries may await them to such a degree, that if they experienced anything close to what was described, they couldn't say it wasn't in the brochure. If they still wanted to go after I made it sound so horrible, I figured they either may have the right stuff or would be too proud to complain much. In any case, my enjoyment of the trip was no longer dependent on theirs.

New people trips were always summer basecamping type trips a day (or three) in. Anybody can hack that and daytrips can be enjoyable for those who might get bored. Even then, while packing to leave one of the early 'traveling' campsites, someone would invariably say: "Why don't we just stay here? This is great right here. Let's just stay here." More often than not, those words didn't come from newbies. That's why I refuse to plan anything beyond a rendezvous with that person these days. Those are very enjoyable for me when he actually shows up when and where expected.  

The two most important things I've learned is there are talkers and there are doers. Always get the cash upfront from the talkers - AND make sure you get any gear you loaned them back at the take-out. Don't wait for the post trip party.

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Behest there a dictionary from whence this comes, for it is not in thine ?

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Whenceforward, all mention of said subject shall cease.